Adolescents’ Exposure to a Sexualized Media Environment and Their Notions of Women as Sex Objects

This study was designed to investigate whether adolescents’ exposure to a sexualized media environment is associated with stronger beliefs that women are sex objects. More specifically, we studied whether the association between notions of women as sex objects and exposure to sexual content of varied explicitness (i.e., sexually non-explicit, semi-explicit, or explicit) and in different formats (i.e., visual and audio-visual) can be better described as cumulative or as hierarchical. Further, we investigated whether this association was contingent on gender. Based on data from an on-line survey of 745 Dutch adolescents aged 13 to 18, we found that the relationship between exposure to a sexualized media environment and notions of women as sex objects followed a hierarchical pattern: Starting with adolescents’ exposure to sexually semi-explicit content, the statistical significance of the relationship with notions of women as sex objects moved from semi-explicit to explicit sexual content and from visual to audio-visual formats. Exposure to sexually explicit material in on-line movies was the only exposure measure significantly related to beliefs that women are sex objects in the final regression model, in which exposure to other forms of sexual content was controlled. The relationship between exposure to a sexualized media environment and notions of women as sex objects did not differ for girls and boys.     

Sexualized and Athletic: Viewers’ Attitudes toward Sexualized Performance Images of Female Athletes

Using an experimental methodology, the present study investigated college students’ attitudes toward media images of female athletes. We are particularly focused on how viewers perceive media images of female athletes that have both an appearance and athleticism focus, such as those found in ESPN’s The Body Issue. An aim of our study was to assess viewers’ attitudes toward these images that are not purely objectified, thereby contributing to the objectification literature and providing empirical data relevant to theorizing on the social impact of these images. U.S. college students (n?=?563) viewed one of four types of images of the same athletes including: (a) sexualized athletes, (b) sexualized performance athletes (in which both athleticism and sexualization are present), (c) sport performance athletes (in which athletes are depicted playing their sport), or (d) non-sexualized athletes. They then rated the athletes’ competence, esteem, and sexual appeal. Overall, sexualized performance athletes were rated more positively than sexualized athletes, but less positively than sport performance athletes. These results have implications for advocacy efforts calling for more media coverage in which women are depicted as athletes rather than as sexual objects.

     

The Relationship Between Sexualized Appearance and Perceptions of Women’s Competence and Electability

Women do not have a uniform or standardized “suit” to wear in the workplace so they must make daily decisions about what to wear. Some propose that women should dress in a sexualized way to gain power and influence, but sexy attire is related to lower perceptions of competence for women in leadership positions. We explored the effect of revealing or conservative attire on perceptions of women’s leadership competence. We also used eye-tracker technology to determine whether looking at sexualized body parts (i.e., breasts, hemline) was related to lower perceptions of leadership competence and electability. A female candidate for a student senate presidency at a U.S. university wearing revealing clothing was perceived by 191 college students as less honest and trustworthy, electable, and competent than one wearing conservative clothing. Sexualized body parts were looked at longer when the candidate was wearing revealing clothing compared to conservative clothing. Furthermore, mediation analyses indicated that the revealing clothing led participants to gaze at sexualized body parts, which, in turn, led to perceiving the candidate as less honest/trustworthy, which lowered their evaluations of her competence and electability. These findings suggest that viewing a woman in a sexy outfit can lead others to stare more at her body and make negative evaluations of her personal attributes. This finding has implications for the choices women make in workplace and leadership contexts.     

‘Deeply Female and Universally Human’: The Rise of Kuan-yin Worship in America

American convert Buddhism has always been comparatively aniconic and opposed to supernaturalism. Earlier periods saw popular Asian bodhisattvas, such as Kuan-yin, relatively marginalized in the new Zen communities. With a rise in the number of female leaders, new found appreciation for ritual, and discovery of the crossover appeal of Kuan-yin, however, bodhisattvas are a visibly growing presence in American Zen and other traditions. Large numbers of converts claim Kuan-yin as an integral part of their Buddhist practice and drawing on and furthering this blossoming of Kuan-yin appreciation is a substantial new industry of bodhisattva-related products, including books advocating devotion to one or more figures. Now even many non-Buddhists have taken interest in Kuan-yin, who is valued for being a feminine figure in a world of mainly male deities.     

Gender Stereotyping and Under-representation of Female Characters in 200 Popular Children’s Picture Books: A Twenty-first Century Update

Gender stereotyping and under-representation of girls and women have been documented in children’s picture books in the past, in the hope that improvements would follow. Most researchers have analyzed award-winning books. We explored sexism in top selling books from 2001 and a 7-year sample of Caldecott award-winning books, for a total of 200 books. There were nearly twice as many male as female title and main characters. Male characters appeared 53% more times in illustrations. Female main characters nurtured more than male main characters did, and they were seen in more indoor than outdoor scenes. Occupations were gender stereotyped, and more women than men appeared to have no paid occupation. Few differences were found between Caldecott award books and other books. A comparison of our book sample to 1980s and 1990s books did not reveal reduced sexism. The persistence of sexism in picture books and implications for children and parents are discussed.     

The Unique Effects of Fathers’ Warmth on Adolescents’ Positive Beliefs and Behaviors: Pathways to Resilience in Low-Income Families

The aim of the present study was to investigate the pathways through which fathers’ warmth influences adolescents’ grades. We investigated the positive beliefs of optimism and academic self-efficacy, and the motivational construct of determination, as possible mediators. Questionnaire data were collected from a sample of 183 sixth-graders (78 male, 105 female) from low-income families: 133 Mexican Americans, 36 African Americans, 11 European Americans, and 3 other ethnicity. Multigroup SEM path analysis was used to test two path models and investigate variations in these models by adolescents’ gender. Results revealed that, controlling for mothers’ warmth, fathers’ warmth predicts adolescents’ positive beliefs and that these relations vary by adolescents’ gender. For male adolescents, relations between fathers’ warmth and English language arts grades are mediated by academic self-efficacy and determination to persist on challenging schoolwork. For female adolescents, relations between fathers’ warmth and math grades are mediated by optimism and determination. These results demonstrate the unique contributions of fathers’ warmth to their sons’ and daughters’ emotional and academic development. Our study suggests that counselors and educators may positively influence adolescents’ well-being by encouraging fathers to communicate warmth and acceptance to their adolescents.     

Parental Corporal Punishment and Girls’ Self-Esteem: The Moderating Effects of Girls’ Agency and Communion in China

The current study aimed to examine the moderating effects of girls’ agency and communion in the links between both fathers’ and mothers’ corporal punishment and girls’ self-esteem in China. Chinese girls (n?=?302) enrolled in grades 4–8 were instructed to independently complete the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scale (CTSPC), the Children’s Sex Role Inventory (CSRI), the Global Self-Worth subscale of Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC), and demographic items. Results indicated that both fathers’ and mothers’ corporal punishment were not directly associated with girls’ self-esteem, whereas both agency and communion were positively associated with girls’ self-esteem. In addition, both fathers’ and mothers’ corporal punishment were significantly and negatively associated with self-esteem for girls with lower levels of agency but not for the girls with higher levels of agency. The current results extend the growing evidence against using corporal punishment as a child-rearing practice and highlight that intervention programs need to focus on eliminating, or at least decreasing, both mothers’ and fathers’ corporal punishment. Additionally, parents and educators need to move from the traditional gender-related attributes to encourage the development of both agency and communion in girls.

     

Being a Body: Women’s Appearance Related Self-Views and their Dehumanization of Sexually Objectified Female Targets

When sexually objectified, women are reduced to their bodies or sexual body parts and become likely targets of dehumanization. Not only men, but also women engage in this process. In the present research, we tested the link between women’s appearance related self-views and their tendency to dehumanize sexually objectified female targets. Specifically, we test two mediational models and predict that (1) women’s motivation to look attractive to men and (2) their tendency to internalize the sociocultural beauty standards are linked with the dehumanization of sexually objectified female targets, and their level of self-objectification mediates both relations. To test these hypotheses, a sample of 55 heterosexual undergraduate female students from Northern Italy volunteered. Participants’ motivation to look attractive to men, their level of internalization of the sociocultural beauty standards, and their tendency to self-objectify was measured. Results confirmed that only sexually objectified female targets were significantly dehumanized, while their non-objectified counterparts were not. Moreover, both participants’ motivation to look attractive to men and their tendency to internalize the sociocultural beauty standards were positively linked with the dehumanization of sexually objectified female targets. As expected, these relations were mediated by participants’ level of self-objectification. These results show that higher levels of self-objectification among those women who are motivated either to look attractive to men or to internalize the sociocultural beauty standards are linked with their tendency to dehumanize sexually objectified female targets.     

The Role of Religious Orientations in Youth’s Posttraumatic Symptoms After Exposure to Terror

This study examined the effect of religiosity on youth’s posttraumatic symptoms resulting from exposure to terror. Participants consisted of 1,973 Israeli high school students. Objective and subjective exposure (fear) to terror were positively associated with posttraumatic symptoms. Intrinsic religiosity was negatively associated with posttraumatic symptoms and found to decrease the effects of objective exposure. Personal extrinsic orientation and social extrinsic orientation were positively associated with posttraumatic symptoms, having no mediating effect. Theoretical implications regarding religiosity as a coping mechanism in light of exposure to terror are discussed.     

Transactional Associations Between Youths’ Responses to Peer Stress and Depression: The Moderating Roles of Sex and Stress Exposure

This study examined transactional associations between responses to peer stress and depression in youth. Specifically, it tested the hypotheses that (a) depression would predict fewer effortful responses and more involuntary, dysregulated responses to peer stress over time; and (b) fewer adaptive and more maladaptive responses would predict subsequent depression. Youth (M age = 12.41; SD = 1.19; 86 girls, 81 boys) and their maternal caregivers completed semi-structured interviews and questionnaires at three annual waves. Multi-group comparison path analyses were conducted to examine sex and stress-level differences in the proposed reciprocal-influence model. In girls and in youth exposed to high levels of peer stress, maladaptive stress responses predicted more depressive symptoms and adaptive stress responses predicted fewer depressive symptoms at each wave. These findings suggest the utility of preventive interventions for depression designed to enhance the quality of girls’ stress responses. In boys, depression predicted less adaptive and more maladaptive stress responses, but only at the second wave. These findings suggest that interventions designed to reduce boys’ depressive symptoms may help them develop more adaptive stress responses.     

The Relation of Exposure to Parental Criminal Activity,Arrest, and Sentencing to Children’s Maladjustment

We examined the psychosocial maladjustment of 32 children with an incarcerated parent from the child’s perspective as well as from the perspective of their caregiver. We focused on the relation between the incarcerated parent’s report of children’s exposure to parental criminal activity, arrest, and sentencing and caregivers’ and children’s self-reports of maladjustment. Results indicate that witnessing these events is associated with more behavior problems according to caregivers’ and children’s self-reports. Moreover, incarcerated parents’ reports of children’s exposure to these events predicted caregivers’ and children’s reports of maladjustment over a 6 month period. Our results also suggest that children with incarcerated mothers, in comparison to children with incarcerated fathers, are exposed to more of these events and may be experiencing greater maladjustment. Implications of these findings are discussed within a proactive context and the use of procedures that take children’s reactions to witnessing parental arrest and sentencing into consideration.     

Do African American Male and Female Adolescents Differ in Technological Engagement?: The Effects of Parental Encouragement and Adolescent Technological Confidence

African Americans, especially African American women, remain one of the most underrepresented groups in technology-based degrees and careers. However, little is known about whether gender differences permeate African American adolescents’ engagement in technology in earlier development, such as in middle and high school (ages 12–18). Drawing on an ecological and intersectional framework, we examined if African American male and female adolescents differed in technological engagement and what contextual factors affected their engagement. We hypothesized that parental encouragement would be associated with greater technological confidence in adolescents, which would be linked to more experiences with and interests in technology. Further, we investigated if these associations would vary by adolescents’ and parents’ gender. Survey data from 1041 African American parent-adolescent dyads highlighted that adolescents had less experience and interest with technical activities than with creative activities, especially among female adolescents. More parents encouraged adolescent sons but limited daughters to use technology, yet female adolescents reported greater technological confidence. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that adolescents’ technological confidence mediated the positive association between parental encouragement and adolescents’ technological engagement across all parent-adolescent dyads, but with some nuances. Our findings suggest that prospective gender studies and educational programs should consider the influences of parenting and gender on promoting African American adolescents’ technological involvement and confidence.

     

Adolescents’ Involvement in Cyber Bullying and Perceptions of School: The Importance of Perceived Peer Acceptance for Female Adolescents

Young people are spending increasing amounts of time using digital technology and, as such, are at great risk of being involved in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim. Despite cyber bullying typically occurring outside the school environment, the impact of being involved in cyber bullying is likely to spill over to school. Fully 285 11- to 15-year-olds (125 male and 160 female, M _age = 12.19 years, SD = 1.03) completed measures of cyber bullying involvement, self-esteem, trust, perceived peer acceptance, and perceptions of the value of learning and the importance of school. For young women, involvement in cyber bullying as a victim, bully, or bully/victim negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school, and perceived peer acceptance mediated this relationship. The results indicated that involvement in cyber bullying negatively predicted perceived peer acceptance which, in turn, positively predicted perceptions of learning and school. For young men, fulfilling the bully/victim role negatively predicted perceptions of learning and school. Consequently, for young women in particular, involvement in cyber bullying spills over to impact perceptions of learning. The findings of the current study highlight how stressors external to the school environment can adversely impact young women’s perceptions of school and also have implications for the development of interventions designed to ameliorate the effects of cyber bullying.     

The Effects of Victim’s Substance Use and Relationship Closeness on Mock Jurors’ Judgments in an Acquaintance Rape Case

Previous research has demonstrated that jurors perceive a female victim who is drunk at the time when she is sexually assaulted as less credible and more deserving of such punishment than a sober victim. In this experiment, we investigated the effect of an alleged acquaintance rape victim’s type of substance use and closeness of relationship with the defendant on the judgments of 152 student mock jurors. Participants read a case summary and answered a series of questions about their impressions of the actors and actions involved in the case. Participants perceived a victim who was sober at the time of the incident as more credible than a victim who was intoxicated due to illegal substance use (alcohol or LSD), and convictions were also most likely when the victim was sober. Women perceived the victim as more credible than men did. Higher victim credibility judgments were associated with less rape myth acceptance (RMA) on the part of participants.     

Selfie-Posting and Young Adult Women’s Restrained Eating: The Role of Commentary on Appearance and Self-Objectification

Sex Roles - Considering the prevalence of social networking sites (SNSs) and restrained eating among young adult women, the present study aimed to investigate the association between selfie-posting...     

How Nice of Us and How Dumb of Me: The Effect of Exposure to Benevolent Sexism on Women’s Task and Relational Self-Descriptions

This research demonstrates how women assimilate to benevolent sexism by emphasizing their relational qualities and de-emphasizing their task-related characteristics when exposed to benevolent sexism. Studies 1 (N?=?62) and 2 (N?=?100) show, with slightly different paradigms and measures, that compared to exposure to hostile sexism, exposure to benevolent sexism increases the extent to which female Dutch college students define themselves in relational terms and decreases the extent to which they emphasize their task-related characteristics. Study 3 (N?=?79) demonstrates that benevolent sexism has more pernicious effects when it is expressed by someone with whom women expect to collaborate than when no collaboration is expected with the source of sexism. The implications of these results are discussed.     

The Role of Placement History and Current Family Environment in Children’s Aggression in Foster Care

Predictors of the physical and relational aggressive behavior of children in foster care were examined (N?=?160, 50.9% male, M age?=?7.57, SD?=?2.39). First, predictors representative of children’s placement histories were examined in relation to the children’s aggression at T1. Next, predictors representing characteristics of the current family environment were examined in relation to the children’s aggression at T2 (4 months later). Results revealed that a greater number of prior group home placements and being in a non-kinship home were associated with higher physical aggression at T1. A greater number of prior group home placements, a fewer number of regular home placements, being in a non-kinship home, and prior removal from the home due to neglect were associated with higher relational aggression at T1. The results also revealed that higher foster sibling relational aggression at T1 predicted lower child physical aggression at T2. If foster siblings were biological children of the foster parent, higher levels of a foster sibling’s physical aggression at T1 predicted reduced child physical aggression at T2. The opposite pattern was observed if foster siblings were not biological children of the foster parent. Lastly, longer time in the current placement, more children in the home, and the presence of a sibling that was a biological child of the parent predicted higher child relational aggression at T2. These findings provide initial insights into how placement history and current family environment are associated with the physical and relational aggressive behavior of children in foster care.     

Autism and ‘disease’: The semantics of an ill-posed question

It often seems incorrect to say that psychiatric conditions are diseases, and equally incorrect to say that they are not. This results in what would seem to be an unsatisfactory stalemate. The present essay examines the considerations that have brought us to such a stalemate in our discussions of autism. It argues that the stalemate in this particular case is a reflection of the fact that we need to find the logical space for a position that rejects both positive and negative answers. It then suggests one way in which we might find such space, by applying Michael Dummett’s notion of semantic disharmony.